We’re Going to Israel!

April 23 - May 4

It’s her first time, and my first time in 25 years. I didn’t think it would be this long but it just never worked out to go. But now is the time. We’ve been preparing for months – new passports, new luggage and other things. After all this prepping and packing today is the day. First the flight to New York, a brief layover, and then the long flight to Tel Aviv. I can’t say that I look forward to the flight but I just keep the final destination in mind.

Holy Dirt

When I went in 1993 I just wanted to get my feet on the Land. Not just on the tarmac (which is how we deplaned in 1993) or in the terminal or on the street but on the Land itself – the dirt. Hebrew has a special word for this: Eretz. It means “land”, but to the people of Eretz Israel, it means much more. I wanted to stand in that special dirt and run it through my fingers. After we went through customs and got to the hotel I went outside – stood on the land, knelt down and touched it with my fingers and pressed the palm of my hand against it. Then I walked out to the beach on the Mediterranean Sea, took off my shoes and walked barefooted along the sandy shore. Here I was, at last.

I had first wanted to go to Israel in 1970—it took 23 years before I made that first trip. And soon I will be there again. The question is: Why Israel? Why did I want to go as a young man and why do I want to go now? That is a long story but I can give a short answer.

Why Israel?

There are countless historical sites in Israel that have a great deal of meaning to me. I enjoyed visiting many of them on my first tour—the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, the Golan Heights, the Jordan River, the Dead Sea and Jerusalem, just to name a few. But the real benefit was just being there—walking the Land. As I walked I had a certain contentment, a peace, a settled-ness that is difficult to describe.

Gertrude Stein once said, “America is my country, and Paris is my home.” Substitute Paris with Israel, and I feel like I understand her completely. When I was in Israel, I simply felt at home. How can that be since I have never lived there? I don’t know but that’s just the way it is. I thought I would go back every year.

Side by Side

This trip is even more special because Fran will be joining me. She has ministered by my side all these years, developing a great love for the Land, and the People rooted in it, while never having visited. But now we can share this adventure together, just as we’ve shared so much else in life.

#WiksellsInIsrael

We promise to try to put the cameras down long enough to see the Land through both eyes at once. But we also promise to bring you with us, through the sights we encounter, and insights we gain along the way. If you don’t already follow us on Instagram or Facebook, please take a moment to click those buttons. We’re so thankful for your prayers, and for your interest in the work of Our Father Abraham.

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On the Passover table is a plate with three matzot (“unleavened bread”, plural for matzah). During the early part of the Passover meal, the middle matzah is removed and broken in two. The larger half is called the Afikomen, and wrapped in a cloth and hidden.

Shofar

A trumpet fashioned from the horn of a ram. May be short or long.

#SorryNotSorry

Mount Moriah

Mount Moriah, the site of the binding of Isaac, later became the site of the Jerusalem Temple. Abraham and Isaac were most likely living in the land of the Philistines at the time at the time of this story. Philistia was west/southwest of Mount Moriah. Thus, just a few minutes before arriving at the spot of the sacrifice, they would have likely passed the site that would come to be known as Golgotha (immediately west of the Temple, outside the city walls) where Yeshua was crucified. Imagine Abraham seeing a vision of what was to come, just as he passed the spot where it would take place.

Persia

Chutzpah

Yiddish: shameless audacity; guts

Magnificat

Luke 1:46-55 (TLV)

Then Miriam said, “My soul magnifies Adonai, and my spirit greatly rejoices in God, my Savior. For He has looked with care upon the humble state of His maidservant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One has done a great thing for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is from generation to generation to the ones who fear Him. He has displayed power with His arm. He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down rulers from thrones and exalted humble ones. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent away the rich empty-handed. He has helped His servant Israel, remembering His mercy, just as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.”

Miriam

Mary’s Hebrew name. Literally, “Rebellious”

Ruakh / Ruach

“Spirit”

Ruakh HaKodesh, “Holy Spirit”

Ruakh Elohim, “Spirit of God”

Torah

First 5 books of the Old Testament. The Law of Moses. The Pentateuch.

Kohen

Priest (Pronounced “KO-hayn”)

Priests: Kohanim (Pronounced “ko-ha-NEEM”)

Adonai

Translated “LORD”. This word is typically used as a Hebrew substitute for the name of God given to Moses at the burning bush: YHVH (“I AM” sometimes rendered “Yahweh”)

Yeshua

Jesus’ Hebrew name, what his relatives and peers would have called him. Literally, “Salvation” or “God Saves”